Shooting Kabul by N. H. Senzai

Author:N. H. Senzai
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books

Fadi practically ran to school on Tuesday morning, Noor’s money safely tucked away in an envelope in his backpack. He flew up the steps and jerked open the front door. He fairly skipped down the crowded halls on his way to homeroom. As usual, students were milling around the halls, whispering to one another. But the looks on their faces were different. Fadi glanced at the table the school tree huggers association had set up to raise money for a campaign to clean up local beaches. Their collection boxes, decorated with peace signs, stood unattended. They weren’t laughing or joking around. They where whispering, and they look scared.

“Did you see the news this morning?” said a boy in a Giants cap.

Fadi slowed, pretending to adjust his backpack.

“Yeah, I can’t believe it—,” said the girl next to him.

“My mom freaked out,” interrupted her friend. “She has family in New York and was trying to call them all morning.”

They gave each other anxious looks as Fadi paused. What is going on? he thought, a prickle of unease creeping down his spine. He hurried on to homeroom and took his seat. He had unfinished math homework to take care of.

Homeroom passed as usual, with Mr. Torres coming in late, wearing an orange-and-white striped sweater. “Good morning, guys,” he said.

The room was unusually quiet as students took their seats. Mr. Torres stood at the board, looking a bit dazed. Moreso than usual. He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it. He shook his head while running his hand through his rumpled hair and reached for the day’s announcements. Fadi exchanged a questioning look with Patty, who was passing notes to her girlfriends. He shrugged at everyone’s weird behavior. All he could think of was going to photo club at the end of the day.

As Fadi exited language arts later that afternoon, he passed by the water fountains and spotted Felix shoving a small sixth-grader out of line to take a drink. Fadi hurried on, toward the cafeteria for lunch.

“You gonna buy me lunch today, rich boy,” he heard Felix call out after him.

Pretending he hadn’t heard, Fadi avoided the cafeteria, planning to hide out in the library. He passed the teachers’ lounge and slowed down. The door was slightly open, and he could see Mr. Torres’s loud sweater.

“I can’t believe it,” said Mr. Torres. “This was no accident. Two planes hit the Twin Towers and another crashed into the Pentagon.”

“Oh, my God,” came a woman’s worried voice.

Fadi stopped, waiting to hear more. The door to the lounge opened and Principal Hornstein hurried out, smoothing the wisps of gray hair around his head. He gave Fadi a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes, and hurried toward his office.

By the time Fadi headed toward the art studio after school, he’d pieced together what had happened through fragmented conversations he’d heard throughout the day. Terrorists had crashed planes into two skyscrapers in New York and at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.

Around a dozen kids were sitting in the art studio when he entered.

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